Principles of Investigative Documentation

Principles of Investigative Documentation discusses the process of documenting an investigation from start to finish. The first chapter discusses the five primary principles of investigative documentation: taking comprehensive notes; documenting every effort to contact witnesses and all surveillance; preparing reports whenever there is any possibility of needing to testify; taking verbatim statements from hostile witnesses and declarations from friendly witnesses; and providing all case documents to the client or maintaining a document retention plan.

Philip Becnel is the Managing Partner of Dinolt Becnel & Wells Investigative Group LLC, a private investigative firm based in Washington, D.C. He is the author of the books "Introduction to Conducting Private Investigations" and "Principles of Investigative Documentation". He has published several articles in investigative, legal, and popular publications including Time Magazine, Westlaw Journal Employment, and The Corporate Counselor. Philip has served as President of the Private Investigators Association of Virginia, and has taught undergraduate courses in criminal procedure, white collar crime, and criminal investigation.